Content Partnerships Manager
Content Partnerships Manager
Preferred Hiring Locations: Sioux Falls, SD; Minneapolis Area, MN; Fargo or Grand Forks, ND
Compensation: $80,000–$105,000 base salary
The Opportunity
We’re partnering with a growing sports media organization to identify a Content Partnerships Manager who can help expand its portfolio of live and on-demand sports content across linear and streaming platforms.
This is a relationship-driven, business development-focused role for someone who knows how to identify opportunities, build partnerships, negotiate deals, and turn relationships into revenue-generating content opportunities. The ideal candidate will bring a strong network and understanding of the sports industry—particularly collegiate athletics—and genuine passion for sports and media.
You’ll work directly with colleges, athletic departments, conferences, professional sports organizations, events, and other rights holders to identify and secure compelling content partnerships.
What You’ll Do
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Drive business development and content acquisition by identifying, cultivating, and securing new sports content partnerships.
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Build and maintain relationships with colleges, athletic departments, conferences, professional sports organizations, events, and independent rights holders.
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Develop and manage a strong pipeline of prospective partners and provide regular updates to leadership.
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Lead negotiations for media rights, licensing agreements, and multi-year partnerships.
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Evaluate potential partnerships, including audience opportunity, financial value, strategic fit, and revenue potential.
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Develop valuation models and business cases for new partnerships and existing agreements approaching renewal.
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Collaborate cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Operations, Legal, Finance, Digital/Streaming, and other teams to bring new content partnerships to life.
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Develop a proactive acquisition strategy informed by audience demand, industry trends, competitive offerings, and emerging opportunities.
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Identify opportunities to grow revenue through strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and related business development initiatives.
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Stay current on developments across collegiate athletics, professional sports, streaming, broadcast, and the evolving sports media landscape.
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Represent the organization at campuses, conferences, industry events, and other relevant gatherings.
What We’re Looking For
The strongest candidate will bring a combination of sports industry expertise, business development experience, relationship-building skills, and commercial acumen.
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5+ years of experience in business development, sales, content acquisition, media rights, sports media, collegiate athletics, or a related field.
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A proven track record of building partnerships, developing new business, negotiating agreements, and closing deals.
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Strong understanding of the sports media ecosystem, including streaming, broadcast, licensing, and media rights.
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Deep knowledge of and genuine passion for sports, ideally with a strong understanding of collegiate athletics.
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Excellent relationship-building and communication skills with the ability to build credibility with senior-level partners and rights holders.
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Strong negotiation and contract management experience.
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Strategic and commercially minded, with the ability to evaluate opportunities through both a content and business lens.
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Comfortable operating independently, managing a pipeline, and proactively creating opportunities.
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Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, communications, media, or a related field—or equivalent experience.
Why This Role?
This is an opportunity to play a meaningful role in shaping the future of a sports media platform—not simply managing existing partnerships. You’ll have the opportunity to identify new opportunities, build relationships across the sports industry, negotiate meaningful deals, and help determine what content audiences see next.
If you’re someone who lives and breathes sports, loves building relationships, and has a true business development mindset, this could be a particularly exciting opportunity.
Compensation & Benefits
The hiring range for this position is $80,000–$105,000, with the actual base salary determined by factors including internal equity, location, and the individual’s job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for an annual bonus based on company and/or individual performance.
Travel: Some travel to campuses, conferences, industry events, and partner meetings will be required. Evening and weekend work may occasionally be necessary based on business and sports schedules.
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